Christmas 2009

Christmas Eve

Leaving cookies for Santa

Jonah wanted to sleep in the living room to keep an eye out for Santa! :-)

Christmas Day

Clearing off a layer of rain/sleet/ice so that Mark's family could get here!

Uncle Paul teaching Jonah how to play LEGO Indiana Jones

Ethan and Alissa

Nicholas (and uncle Dave and Aunt Alissa!)


Grandpa Udstuen and the boys

The day after Christmas Mark brought out his 1984 Nintendo for the boys. Classic!

Daycare Holiday Party

The kids did a Christmas Eve Play for the parents.
Ben LOVED his gift from Amy!

Meeting Santa

Dance Party!

Sunday School Christmas Program

Jonah, 2nd row on left


Benjamin, front row, second from right


Jonah singing "Away in a Manger" with 3 other children. Sorry the about the shaky videotaping, but I was laughing pretty hard when Jonah started to really belt it out.

Benjamin's favorite was "Little Drummer Boy" or the "Barumparumpbum Song" as he called it.

After the program

Decorating for Christmas

Visiting the tree farm


Benjamin finds "the one".

Hot chocolate with Jane in the warming house

There goes our tree. It was pretty easy to convince Benjamin that a bigger tree would look better in our house.

Hanging lights on the house. Dad told the boys, "When you are 5 you can help me hang the lights on top of the house." So with very, very close supervision Jonah got to go on the roof.

Benjamin was not impressed with this age restriction

Decorating a gingerbread house

Marcus and Jack Visit

Marcus and Jack (and their parents!) came to visit us in early December. After 5 years of training with our children and no serious injuries, we were able to convince Jane and Jim to leave their kids with us for sleepover. They probably found some humor in the fact this was the second day the boys were here and that a normal bedtime for Marcus would be 11 p.m. our time (and given the excitement of the sleepover I think it was almost midnight before he fell asleep! :-) We can't wait to do it again!




Jonah snugged with Marcus every chance he got.




Movie time

Santa's visit to Spring Grove and The Polar Express

Santa came to visit last Friday during the Spring Grove Festival of Trees. The event is always beautiful, but the theme was especially appealing to the boys this year: The Polar Express. We saw the movie at the local theater in the afternoon, and then headed up to visit Santa in the evening.

Getting their golden tickets to ride the Polar Express

Tickets punched by the Train Conductor

Sharing secrets inside the Polar Express :-)

Waiting in line to see Santa

Visiting with Santa - Jonah asked for a wrestler and Benjamin asked for a bell (All the kids recieved the Polar Express Christmas bell from Santa. I think Ben was worried he wouldn't get one if he didn't ask for it!)